Now and Then 2: Before and After
by Flame Haze of Eternal Light
Summary: Roberta, Samantha, Teeny and Chrissy go to high school, in their first year Samantha meets a boy called Raphael, who like each other from the moment they met, and they all go through a romance theirselves, please R & R, go easy this is my first one of thi
1. High School 1st Year

Now and Then 2 By Phoenix  
  
Chapter 1 - High School 1st Year  
  
At the beginning of their first year Roberta, Chrissy, Teeny and Samantha arrived to school, they went to their lockers, they took out their books, and went to their first class, Roberta and Chrissy were together in Math, and Samantha and Teeny were together in Biology. Samantha and Teeny sat together, on Samantha's right side, there was a boy that she noticed was looking at her and then looked away, Teeny noticed it as well.  
  
- "Wow, first day and already an admirer Samantha, good for you", Samantha turned to Teeny, while she was looking at the boy, and grabbed her face and turned her head around.  
  
- "Don't look at him Teeny" - Samantha said while opening her notebook, and reaching for her pencil, but dropped it and fell right in the boy's side, he picked it up, but didn't give it to her right away, instead he tore a piece of paper and wrote something in it, and wrapped it around the pencil, then he gave it to her.  
  
Teeny looked at the pencil and impatiently whispered to Samantha, - " Open it!"- She unwrapped the piece of paper and read it, hiding it from Teeny who just glared at Samantha and turned around, she began reading the paper, "Hey, how are you?, the name's Raphael, I'm from New Mexico, can you tell me your name?", She blushed a bit but tried to hide it, she then wrote, "I'm Samantha", she folded the paper and threw it beside him.  
  
He picked it up, Teeny saw Samantha who tried not to blush, and she noticed, she knew Samantha maybe too well, probably even more than Samantha knew herself, then she realized that no one had ever made her blush, specially a guy. Samantha was all nervous, she didn't know what to do, for a guy had never been interested in her, she began thinking a million things, like she always did, she thought that she wouldn't know what to do if he asked her out, she had never gone out on a date with anyone, but she was also curious to see what happened, Teeny giggled when she looked at her friend who was all nervous, she put her hand on Samantha's shoulder.  
  
- "Hey girl, what did he write?" - Teeny asked, Samantha looked down where she found another piece of paper.  
  
- "Wait Teeny, I think he wrote something again" - Samantha said.  
  
- "Well let me read it with you" - Teeny took the paper from Samantha's hand and unfolded it, "Can you meet me after school, just to talk and get to know each other?", Teeny giggled and looked at Samantha.  
  
- "Well, what are you going to say to him?" - Teeny asked.  
  
Samantha just shook her head.  
  
- "I don't know, what do you think I should do? Or better yet what would you do?" - Samantha asked.  
  
- "Well, judging by his looks, I would definitely say yes, but I think that in your case, you should meet him, but try not to look easy, guys love it when you just say yes and they could use you for their evil purposes, I know! Tell him that you've got other things to do, but that probably you will meet him after school"- Teeny said while Samantha wrote the message on the paper, then she threw it to Raphael, he picked it up and opened it, Samantha saw Raphael smile while he read the paper, so she smiled as well.  
  
Teeny noticed the smile on Samantha's face, and she giggled.  
  
Meanwhile Roberta and Chrissy were talking in Math class as usual.  
  
- "What am I gonna do Crissy, Scott is here and is now sitting next to me" - Roberta said.  
  
Chrissy turned around facing Roberta and saw Scott, she glared a little and turned to Roberta again.  
  
- "He likes you, but why do you keep getting nervous when he's near, and don't forget he's a Wormer and above all he is the enemy" - Chrissy said.  
  
Roberta looked at Scott briefly, and when she did, Scott looked at her too and smiled at her, she returned him the smile for a second and looked away, Chrissy OF COURSE noticed.  
  
- "You see you're dying for Scott Wormer" - Chrissy said and Roberta glared at her.  
  
- "I am not" - Roberta protested but Chrissy said it again.  
  
- "You are".  
  
Roberta glared again at Chrissy and said.  
  
- I'm not, and if you don't shut up I'll break your nose".  
  
The Bell rang and the class was over, the four girls went to the school's cafeteria, Roberta realized that Samantha was too nervous, Chrissy noticed it too.  
  
- "What's wrong Samantha, you're shaking" - Roberta asked, and by the time she finished her question, Samantha spilled her coke.  
  
Teeny looked at Roberta and Chrissy.  
  
- "Ok, I'll tell you the story, Samantha met a guy in biology class, cute as hell, he slipped her a piece of paper and asked her if they could meet after school to get "Aquainted" " - Teent said to them in a low voice, Roberta looked at Samantha who grabbed her hair and put it behind her ears.  
  
- "So, what did you say to him?" - asked Roberta, Samantha looked up to Roberta.  
  
- "I said I would probably meet him after school" - Samantha replied, Chrissy seemed surprised but happy, because Samantha finally found a guy that was interested in her.  
  
- "And, is he good looking?" - Chrissy asked and Samantha nodded - "And What's his name?" - she asked again.  
  
- "His name is Raphael, he's from New Mexico" - Samantha replied, they were all surprised, Teeny looked at Samantha and said sarcastically.  
  
- "Well this is very good, you'll have your very own latin lover" - Samantha turned quickly to face Teeny and said.  
  
- "Shut up Teeny, don't make fun of him" - Teeny turned around and grabbed her coke, then she replied.  
  
- "Oh come on, I'm not making fun, but really Sam, this is the first time I've ever saw you shaking and blushing because of a guy, and I'm just saying that you should go out with him, he really seems to like you, so why don't you give him a chance and give yourself a chance, I promise you won't regret it".  
  
Samantha thought about what Teeny said, it could be fun for her to go out for the first time on a date. She thought about Raphael in every class, she hardly stayed focused on the class, and to make matters worse Raphael was with her in every class but one, in Spanish, that's when she realized that maybe Raphael could be help her pass that class, but she felt kind of sad of not having him on that class.  
  
Teeny and Roberta were on Spanish class together, and with them was Raphael, Teeny pointed Raphael out for Roberta, and Roberta felt like sending him a message to him, she tore a piece of paper from her notebook and wrote a message, she folded it and threw it to him, Raphael unfolded the piece of paper and read it, "I'm Roberta, Samantha's my friend, and I just want to warn you one thing, if you hurt her I'll beat the shit out of you", Raphael chuckled, he then wrote his own message to Roberta and threw it to her, she unfolded the paper and read it, "Don't worry Roberta, that's not gonna happen, I like Samantha seriously, ever since I saw her", Roberta looked at Raphael and whispered to him.  
  
- "Ok latin boy, you're warned".  
  
The bell rang and Samantha saw Raphael waiting in the garden for her, she told herself to calm down and just talk to him; she walked up to him, Raphael looked at her and smiled, Samantha smiled back at him and sat beside him, then she looked around, just to see if Roberta, Teeny and Chrissy weren't around, she saw the coast was clear, so she looked at him and before she could say anything Raphael said.  
  
- "So, how was your first day?" - Samantha looked at him and said.  
  
- "Oh, fine, it was great and yours?" - Raphael closed a notebook he had and put it inside his backpack, then he looked at Samantha.  
  
- "Well it was going pretty bad until I met you, you made my day" - Samantha was about to blush, but she managed to hide it and just smiled at him, then she said.  
  
- "Well I'm glad I could help you there, but ok, tell me about you... so you're from New Mexico, how did you get here?" - when she finished her question Raphael looked down and replied.  
  
- "My dad left my mom when I was twelve, when that happened I had to go to work, I started of as a delivery boy for a news paper, then I went to work on a movie theater selling popcorn but I resigned, so I started singing in restaurants and it turned out to be my best job ever since, but my mom was promoted but one of the conditions was that we moved here, so she came and got the job, and bought a house and we moved here two weeks ago, and what about you, tell me something about you" - Samantha was impressed, Raphael's story was very much like hers, so she said.  
  
- "My story was a lot like yours, my dad left my mom when I was twelve too, I tried to find a job, but my mom told me she would take care of everything, and she has, so I've just have been dedicating my self to study and my friends" - Raphael looked at Samantha, and then he looked at his watch, then he said.  
  
- "At what time do you have to get home?".  
  
- "At three, because my mom starts her second shift at three thirty" - Samantha said while smiling at him.  
  
- "Well it's almost three, do you mind if I walk you home?" - Raphael asked.  
  
- "No, I don't mind, it's actually not very far from here" - Samantha said, they both stood up and walked to her house.  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Samantha In Love

Sorry for taking this long I know you might not like this chapter but I swear the next one will be better and longer I know you deserve it.  
  
Now And Then 2: Before and After  
  
Chapter 2 - Samantha in Love  
  
After arriving at her house, Samantha invited Raphael in and he said yes, Sam saw the house was very clean she thought her grandmother had been there while she was at school, she went to the kitchen and found a note and money on it, the note read: "I'll be back at 10:00, order pizza".  
  
- "Figures" - Sam said in an angry tone of voice.  
  
-"What's wrong Samantha?" - Raphael asked.  
  
- "Nothing don't worry" - Samantha said.  
  
- "Well I better get going" - Raphael said but Samantha replied.  
  
- "Do you want to stay for dinner?".  
  
- "I don't wanna trouble you" - Raphael said.  
  
- "It's ok, besides my sister's at a friend's house, and I don't wanna eat pizza alone" - Samantha said trying not to blush.  
  
- "Alright sure I'll stay then" - Raphael replied smiling at her.  
  
Samantha went to the kitchen to pick up the phone and Raphael sat in the living room waiting for her, she dialed the number for the pizza place and just when she ordered and gave the adress to her house she was surprised to hear a familiar voice.  
  
- "Samantha is that you?" - the girl said.  
  
- "Teeny? Did I miss dialed?" - Samantha asked rather perplexed.  
  
- "No Sam, you got it right I just started here today, you know many great actresses start in places like this" - Teeny said.  
  
- "Alright then Teeny tell them to hurry with the pizza" - Samantha said.  
  
- "Sure, hey I saw you leave with the latino boy, so come on, give me the details you owe me that" - Teeny said.  
  
- "He just walked me home, in fact he's here right now I invited him to dinner" - Samantha said.  
  
- "Finally the girl is gone, enter the woman, well done Sam, do yourself a favor don't drive this guy away, because if you do you'll regret it forever, you listen to me ok, let yourself go with the flow of things it'll be good I promise" - Teeny said.  
  
- "Ok I'll try" - Samantha replied.  
  
- "Excuse me Miss Tercell you're being paid for taking orders not for standing around, by the way, no personal calls" - A voice cried out that appeared to be from Teeny's boss.  
  
- "Gotta go Sam, details tomorrow ok?" - Teeny said.  
  
- "Sure Teeny, bye"- Samantha said and hung up.  
  
Sam walked back to the living room and found Raphael looking at Samantha's family photos, she sat down beside him and moved a little closer to him discreetly and Raphael looked at her and smiled.  
  
- "Your family looks nice" - Raphael said.  
  
- "Yes it was" - Samantha replied taking the photo and placing it on the table.  
  
- "I guess things don't always turn up like you want them to" - Raphael said.  
  
- "Yeah, tell me about it, I thought that my parents fighting was normal, but you know, what I hated the most was that he never said goodbye, he just took off" - Samantha said.  
  
- "Yeah well, my dad didn't go quietly, he made sure everyone in the neighborhood knew he was leaving, he even drove the car around screaming waking everyone" - Raphael said.  
  
- "Must've been horrible" - Samantha said.  
  
- "Yeah it was quite a scene" - Raphael said and the door bell rang, Samantha got up and opened the door, it was the pizza, she paid the delivery boy and went to the dinning room and they started eating.  
  
The next day Teeny hurried to catch Samantha at her locker, when she got to her she saw Raphael walking to Sam, so she sat down in a bench close by, Samantha closed her locker door and saw Raphael, she smiled at him and he smiled back, he then stopped beside her and said.  
  
- "I had a goodtime last night, I hope you did too" - Raphael said.  
  
- "Yeah I did too" - Samantha said trembling a little.  
  
- "Sam, can I buy you a pop after school?" - Raphael asked.  
  
- "S-Sure I'd love to" - Samantha said.  
  
Raphael walked away to spanish class, Samantha stood there for a moment watching him go and she noticed Teeny sitting on the bench, she got up and walked to Samantha, Teeny giggled for a moment and said.  
  
- "So, how did it go?".  
  
Samantha blushed and smiled at Teeny.  
  
- "We just ate pizza Teeny, and we talked a little" - Samantha said.  
  
- "That's it? No goodbye kiss?" - Teeny said.  
  
- "Not yet, besides you said go with the flow and that's what I'm doing" - Samantha replied.  
  
- "And what did he say to you just now?" - Teeny asked.  
  
- "He asked me if he could buy me a pop after school" - Samantha answered.  
  
- "Great Sam, I've got a great feeling about this" - Teeny said.  
  
Teeny went to her spanish class, and Samantha went inside the classroom for her next class and she found Chrissy and sat on her side, she didn't put attention to the class, she kept writting Raphael's name on a page and drawing hearts, it was something she had never done, that kind of behavior seamed strange to Chrissy since she never saw Samantha in love, Chrissy stood there quiet without disturbing Samantha and when the bell rang they went together to the cafeteria, there they found Roberta and Teeny, they both sat with them and they saw Samantha's notebook, they giggled and Samantha grabbed her hair and put it behind her ears and looked up to them.  
  
- "Hearts? Samantha? You're falling for this guy aren't you?" - Roberta asked.  
  
- "Yeah maybe I am, I've never felt this way before, I can't wait to see him after school" - Sam replied.  
  
- "Just be careful Samantha don't let your heart wide open unless you are sure about him" - Chrissy said.  
  
- "I know that you know what you are doing Sam, don't be afraid to experiment new things, take risks, remember no risking no gaining" - Teeny said.  
  
After school Raphael stood at the front door waiting for Samantha, she walked to him and they walked to the coffee shop that Sam, Roberta, Chrissy and Teeny always went, they sat together and they stood silent for a moment until Raphael gathered courage to talk.  
  
- "Sam, I like you very much, I liked you ever since you stepped inside the classroom and I would like to know how you feel about us".  
  
Samantha stood speachless, she didn't know what to say, she had imagined this before but imagining was totally different from the actual situation.  
  
- "Umm...I like you too, very much" - Samantha finally said.  
  
- "I would like to know if you would like to be my girlfriend" - Raphael said.  
  
Samantha kept thinking this was unreal, but Teeny's voice kept echoing in her head "Go with the flow".  
  
- "Yes I.....would, sure" - Samantha said, she suddenly felt very happy.  
  
- "So, Can I kiss you?" - Raphael said blushing very noticeably.  
  
- "S-s-sure" - Samantha said and they kissed.  
  
To Be Continued... 


	3. Roberta And Scott

Hope you like this one I'll try to finish Chapter 4 by monday It will get better I promise.  
  
Now And Then 2: Before And After  
  
Chapter 3 - Roberta and Scott  
  
Roberta was riding her bike to her house, she had planned to go out with Chrissy, Teeny and Sam to watch a movie from Teeny's roof since it gave a perfect view to the screen, they sometimes watched the movies from there to make up the story, after all Roberta didn't wanna stay much at home listening to her brothers and watching their endless fist fights, and besides homework was her least favorite thing to do. Roberta hadn't forgotten what happened that summer of 1970, in Samantha's grandmother's attic where she found the article about her mother's car crash and realize that her father had lied to her, it was later that she understood why her father had told her another story, her father didn't want her to know the truth because it was to painful to remember, and he didn't want her to have the image of her mother dying so terribly and painfuly, but still she always kept the picture of her mother with her, she never left her house without it and the copy of the article, she had learned that life moves in strange ways beyond her comprehension but it didn't mean that her perspective of life had changed, everything was like Teeny once said "It's normal for things to be shity".  
  
After changing her clothes and freshening up she left her house and when she was about to get on her bike, Scott Wormer appeared infront of her, Scott Wormer was one of the four Wormer brothers who had always been the enemies of her and the girls, everybody felt sorry for their mom, but not the girls, they were often pestered by these boys and the most memorable payback was when Roberta, Sam, Teeny and Chrissy found them in a lake swimming butt naked, and they took their clothes and underwear and forced the Wormers to run around the highway picking up their trousers. Scott one night came around when Roberta was shooting some hoops and then they kissed, since then she had been secretly interested in him, of cours he did want to be more than friends with Roberta but her difficulty to express that kind of feelings seamed more like not wanting to accept them, and basically because she was embarrased about it for the Wormers where their enemies for so long and she just happened to be in love with the oldest one of them, she always denied it but part of her was tired of doing it. Scott Walked towards her, and stopped three feet away from her.  
  
- "Hi" - Scott said and Roberta stepped away from her bike.  
  
- "What are you doing here?" - Roberta asked faking to be cold to him.  
  
- "I wanted to see you" - Scott replied smiling at her.  
  
- "And what do you want to see me for?" - Roberta asked looking down.  
  
- "Well I think it's obvious, I like you Roberta" - Scott said.  
  
Upon hearing this Roberta went slightly red and looked up at him.  
  
- "B-but, if this is about the kiss forget it Scott it was a long time ago" - Roberta replied.  
  
- "No it's not about the kiss, I do like you for real, and I know you like me" - Scott said.  
  
- "What makes you think I like you?" - Roberta asked faking disgust.  
  
- "Come on, If you don't like me, how come you're blushing?" - Scott replied.  
  
Roberta to this point didn't know what to say, she had Scott staring at her face, smiling at her looking great, much better than that summer when they kissed, she was trying to fight it again, she took a deep breath and tried to be cool.  
  
- "I have to go, I'm gonna be late, so get out of my way" - Roberta finally said.  
  
- "You haven't answered my question" - Scott said.  
  
- "I don't like you Wormer, so get out of my way wimp" - Roberta said as she got on her bike and then she rode away, Scott only smiled and walked away.  
  
Later that day Samantha, Teeny, Chrissy and Roberta were sitting on the roof of Teeny's house, they were joking and laughing at the movie and Teeny's made up dialogs between the stars of the movies, then they went to the tree house and sat there, Samantha told them everything that happened at the coffee shop and that she now had a boyfriend, she was happy, and her friends were happy for her, they knew that it was a good thing for Samantha and besides Raphael seemed a good guy; on the other hand Roberta was a little bit uncomfortable, she kept thinking about what she said to Scott, she knew it wasn't right, she felt like she should have told him the truth, but what was done, was done and there was no turning back.....or maybe there was she thought about telling Scott the truth at school tomorrow but she knew that to do this she had to tell her friends first.  
  
- "Scott came by my house today" - Roberta said.  
  
- "And what did he want?" - Chrissy asked.  
  
- "He said he liked me" - Roberta answered.  
  
- "And what did you say to him?" - Teeny asked and Roberta looked down.  
  
- "I blew him off" - Roberta answered.  
  
- "Roberta, truth or dare?" - Samantha said out of the blue.  
  
- "Truth" - Roberta said.  
  
- "Do you like Scott Wormer?" - Samantha asked and Roberta turned red.  
  
- "What kind of question is that?!" - Roberta demanded.  
  
- "Come on Roberta, say it, we won't tell" - Chrissy said.  
  
- "I.... it's just that... alright yeah I do" - Roberta said.  
  
- "Then why did you blow him off?" - Samantha asked.  
  
- "Come on Samantha, it's Scott Wormer, he is the enemy, he always was" - Chrissy said.  
  
- "But why does he still have to?" - Teeny asked.  
  
- "Yeah I think that's up to you Roberta, if you like them then we can negotiate a truce" - Samantha said.  
  
- "I don't know guys, I just don't know what to do, I mean come on it's me we're talking about here, I've never been in a situation like this" - Roberta said grabbing her hair and throwing it back.  
  
- "Then I'll quote Teeny on this one "Go with the flow", if you feel strongly about him then tell him, we support your decision, whatever it is, right Chrissy?" - Samantha said and Chrissy turned her head and nodded.  
  
- "Thanks you guys" - Roberta said.  
  
As a result of that conversation Roberta spent much of the night thinking about telling or not telling Scott how she felt, after too much thinking she decided to tell him, but now the problem was finding the words to tell him, she wasn't very good at it since she had never done it, but then she remembered Samantha's words go with the flow, just let go, she said to herself. The next morning at school she noticed that Scott wasn't in Math, she asked her friends if they had seen him but none of them had seen him, she decided to go to his house after school, and she did, she went to his house on her bike and knocked on the door and Scott oppened it.  
  
- "Hey, what are you doing here?" - Scott asked her smiling.  
  
- "I... came to see how you were doing, you know because you cut school today" - Roberta said.  
  
- "I'm fine, I just had to do somethings for my mom" - Scott replied.  
  
- "Ok, well I'll see ya" - Roberta said, she felt like she couldn't do it but Scott stopped her.  
  
- "Why are you really here? I don't think you just came to see why I didn't go to school today" - Scott said and Roberta turned to him.  
  
- "I...just... I lied to you" - Roberta said.  
  
Scott closed the door behind him and walked towards her.  
  
- "About what?" - Scott asked.  
  
- "When I... said I didn't like you, because I do" - Roberta said feeling like the weigh of the world was finally off her shoulders.  
  
- "Are you joking with me?" - Scott asked looking surprised.  
  
- "No, it's the truth, I didn't want to accept it, because, you know that I've never been in this kind of situation before so it's difficult for me to express..." - Roberta said and just before she could finish Scott walked to her and kissed her.  
  
- "So, this just leaves one question" - Scott said.  
  
- "And what is it?" - Roberta asked.  
  
- "Would you like to me to be your boyfriend?" - Scott replied.  
  
- "Alright" - Roberta answered and Scott smiled at her and she smiled back, and they kissed again.  
  
- "Come on, I'll walk you home" - Scott said, and he took Roberta's bike and they walked together holding hands.  
  
To be Continued... 


	4. A Start Of Good Things To Come

I'm really sorry for taking this long I promise I won't take so long anymore and I'll really try to work better on it because this chapter I'm not so sure of, any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Phoenix.

**Now And Then 2: Before and After**

**Chapter 4 – A Start Of Good Things To Come**

The first three weeks of school were relatively easy and time flew by almost too quickly, it is clear that when you are in love things go faster, time goes faster. Every single moment in Samantha's life was beautiful for the first time ever, her problems always seamed to go away every time Raphael went in the room.

She was finally at peace when she was at home, the fact that her mother was always gone didn't trouble her as much, in fact many was the time that she wasn't at home herself, but even with this everytime her mother brought a man to the house Samantha always found a way to get rid of him.

In Roberta's case, she was happy and she was the centre of jealousy in school, after all she was the girlfriend of the hottest guy in school, but still everyone asked themselves how Scott would ever get interested in such a tomboy, after all there were many girls far more feminine than her that would kill for Scott's attention, none the less he was in love with Roberta and that was all that mattered and all she cared about.

Roberta was still feeling a bit odd when she held hands with Scott, it wasn't something she ever pictured herself doing ever, or maybe she did but she was far too proud to admit it, but still she glowed with a light she never thought she had in her.

As far as Teeny and Chrissy go, they started to feel a little pushed aside, Samantha was almost always sharing her time with Raphael and Roberta with Scott. They started to feel neglected, so they went to Samantha and Roberta and they took them to the soda shop they always went to, they sat down on their usual table and ordered their cokes and ice cream.

"What do you wanted to talk about Teeny?" – Samantha asked.

- "Ok guys, we are very happy for you, but the reason we wanted to talk to you today was because, you've been neglecting us" – Teeny said and Chrissy nodded.

- "That's totally untrue" – Roberta said clearly offended by Teeny's accusation.

- "It is true Roberta, you guys spend more time with your boyfriends that we have been totally pushed aside, friends don't do that" – Chrissy said.

- "Friends don't do this Chrissy, you're just jealous because we have boyfriends and you don't" – Roberta said and when she finished Samantha took word.

- "Roberta stop! It's true, we're sorry guys, we didn't mean to push you aside, it's just that you know I don't remember when I was this happy" – Samantha said.

- "We know that Samantha and after all you owe me, don't you forget" – Teeny said.

- "So, Roberta what do you say" – Chrissy asked and Roberta just looked down.

- "I guess I'm sorry too guys" – Roberta said.

- "Great, now that it's settled, let's discuss the other issue at hand…the Halloween dance" – Teeny said raising her eyebrows.

"Do we really have to go to that thing?" – Chrissy asked with an annoyed look.

"Of course we have to, it's a chance to socialize, and to show my infinite supply of charms to the men there" – Teeny said smiling at her friends with her intent of a sexy look.

"Teeny you sound like a tramp" – Chrissy said.

After hearing the word Halloween dance, Samantha went blank, she had never been to a dance, neither Roberta or her had been to a dance and obviously Chrissy wasn't looking forward to it. Samantha thought that she would have to wear a dress, which was something she hadn't wore since forever, and it was almost impossible for Roberta to even conceive the idea of wearing a dress. Of course Chrissy was worried more about if she would look fat in her dress, even though she had lost weight over the summer.

On the next day Samantha and Roberta were looking for dresses and Scott and Raphael joined them to help them pick one.

"Ok, I want your most honest opinion" – Samantha said to Raphael.

"Sure, go ahead" – Raphael replied as he sat down on a chair by two mirrors.

On the other hand Roberta was feeling totally out of place, Scott had to grab her by the hand and start looking for dresses himself to help his overwhelmed girlfriend.

"What about this black one?" – Scott asked Roberta.

Roberta scanned the dress from top to bottom.

"You want to dress me up for a funeral?" – Roberta asked.

"Ok you are not helping Roberta, I'm just picking some because you don't seem to want to choose one yourself, and sorry if I don't have taste it's just that I've never done this I have brothers, no sisters you know that" – Scott said.

"I'm sorry…ok, let me try" – Roberta said and reached for a white dress and then she continued – "How about this one?".

"Good, just remember that it's a costume party and you have to arrange it to make it scary" – Scott said.

"Then I'll make it an angel costume" – Roberta said.

"Then it's definitely going to be scary" – Scott said and Roberta just smiled and punched him on the arm.

Samantha tried on a red dress and let loose her hair and walked to Raphael who saw her and his jaw dropped, Samantha looked absolutely beautiful and he smiled at her.

"So…What do you think?" – Samantha asked.

"Incredible, you look so beautiful, I'm in a loss of words to describe it" – Raphael said looking at her and smiling.

"Really? You're not just teasing me are you?" – Samantha asked smiling at him.

"I could never tease the most beautiful girl in the world" – Raphael said.

They went out of the store and went their separate way, Samantha left with Raphael and Roberta with Scott. It was getting late, the lights on the street were starting to light on and the cars on the streets were less with each passing moment as Samantha and Raphael walked down the street to where their bikes were. Samantha talked to Raphael about what happened between her and her friends.

"Well if that's how they feel then we should think about sitting with them at school" – Raphael suggested.

"Yeah well I think we'll work things out as we go" – Samantha replied, and they both got on their bikes and rode away to Samantha's house.

When they arrived to her house, Samantha noticed the lights were on and that her mother's car was parked in the garage, she thought it was odd since she was never home until past eleven. Samantha parked her bike and asked Raphael to step inside for a bit so he could meet her mother, Raphael went in with Samantha and they walked into the living room and found Samantha's mother with yet another man, this guy looked a bit more presentable that the others but still Samantha hated to see another man in her house; but for no reason at all her mother got up from the sofa and started yelling at Samantha.

"Do you have any idea how late it is Samantha!" – Sam's mom demanded.

"It's only eight o'clock mom it's not that late and besides you are always out" - Samantha replied.

"I don't care, and who is this boy, what are you doing with my daughter!" – Sam's mom still shouted.

"For your information mom I was going to introduce him to you, this is Raphael and he is my boyfriend" – Samantha said holding Raphael's hand in hers.

"What do you mean he's your boyfriend! You're too young to have a boyfriend! Let go of his hand and get out of here filthy boy!" – Sam's mom shouted even more.

"Ok mom, he'll leave but I'm going with him, I can't stand you, you have no right to treat him this way, and who is this guy huh? Is he another one of your one night stands?" – Samantha said and when she finished saying it her mom slapped her on face and Samantha started to cry in anger, she took Raphael's hand and she went outside with him and they both ran away, Sam's mom chased them to the front porch.

"Come back here young lady!" – Sam's mom yelled but Samantha kept going.

They stopped running on the corner of the street and Samantha started crying and Raphael held her in his arms.

"Quite a start of good things to come huh?" – Raphael said sarcastically and Sam just chuckled a little.

"I hate her Raphael, I hate it that she ruins things for me like that" – Samantha said still crying and laying her head on Raphael's chest.

"Parents always mess up Sam, It's a way of reminding us that nobody is perfect, especially parents" – Raphael said trying to comfort Samantha.

"Could you take me to Teeny's house please?" – Samantha asked him.

"Sure, come on" – Raphael replied.

To be Continued…


	5. The Halloween Dance

**Now and Then 2: Before and After**

**Chapter 5 – The Halloween Dance**

The walk to Teeny's house was not long, after a few minutes of walking around and hiding behind bushes everytime Samantha's mom drove by, Raphael and Samantha stood outside Teeny's house, they threw a couple of stones to her window until she opened.

- "What are you guys doing here?" – Teeny asked looking down at both of them.

- "I got in a huge fight with my mom and I'm looking for a place to stay, can I please stay with you?" – Samantha asked Teeny.

Teeny just stood there for a moment and looked around to see if her parents had got up, when she saw that no one came to check on her, she threw some keys to Raphael.

- "Those are the keys for the garden door, get the ladder Raphael for Samantha" – Teeny said.

Raphael took the keys and opened the garden door, he picked up the ladder which was pressed against the wall with the lawnmower on its side, he carefully moved the lawnmower and took the ladder out to the front of the house, he pressed it against the wall and set it to reach Teeny's window.

- "There it is, go Sam, I have to get home too" – Raphael said.

Samantha looked at him, clearly her eyes were watery, she had been crying all the way to Teeny's house.

- "Thank you Raphael, and I'm sorry" – Samantha said.

Raphael just took her hand and looked her in the eyes.

- "Don't worry about anything ok? I'll see you tomorrow" – Raphael said.

She kissed him and went up the stairs, when she went inside she saw Raphael take the ladder back to the garden and then he closed the garden door and threw the keys back at Teeny, they waved him goodbye and he walked away until he was out of sight.

- "What happened Sam?" – Teeny asked looking at Samantha who had just walked to the bed and hugged a pillow.

- "My mom again, she totally freaked out when she saw Raphael, why does she do this to me, why can't she just be happy for me?" – Samantha asked holding her pressing need to burst into tears, this time for anger.

- "Parents mess up always Samantha, you know it, that's the way things are" – Teeny said as she gave her friend a hug.

- "I know it's normal for things to be shitty" – Samantha said.

- "But you can change that" – Teeny said.

- "I don't know how Teeny" – Samantha replied.

- "Well I can't tell you how Sam, you are just gonna have to figure it out" – Teeny said.

Samantha didn't think Teeny's last comment was very helpful, but at least it calmed her down a little. She found it hard to sleep that night, she kept reviving the scene with her mother in her head, and it made her even more angry, but then it felt like sadness, she was sad for her mother's reaction, and now that her mother knew the boy imagine what grandma had to say about the whole thing; she was actually a lot more open to new things than her mother, it was only her addiction to playing bingo with her friends that really annoyed Samantha a little.

Samantha had trouble getting over last night, everytime she was with Raphael she couldn't help to get embarrassed, and even though Raphael constantly comforted her she still felt bad for everything. The recess came and Teeny, Roberta, Scott, Chrissy, Samantha and Raphael were sitting on a table near the left window from the entrance of the lunch room, they were eating lunch very quietly until Samantha looked up and saw the poster for the Halloween dance.

- "Oh my god, I completely forgot" – Samantha said.

- "What about it?" – Chrissy asked looking at Samantha.

Samantha looked around the table as if she couldn't spot Roberta, when she did she looked at her.

- "What?" – Roberta asked.

- "Did you finish with your dress?" – Samantha asked, Chrissy and Teeny almost lept off their seats when they heard this.

- "You are going to the dance in a dress?" – Teeny asked, Chrissy was almost choking for she had just taken a sip of her coke when she heard this.

- "Y-Yeah so!" – Roberta asked in a menacing tone.

- "Oh my god...our little Tomboy is turning into a lady" – Chrissy said.

Roberta started to get all red in the face.

- "Shut up!" – Roberta commanded, the others just burst into laughter.

- "Yeah, laugh all you want you weasels" – Roberta said and she crossed her arms and looked out the window pretending not to hear them anymore.

Samantha left the subject, later that afternoon she kissed Raphael goodbye and went to her grandmother's house, fortunately she was home, she told Samantha that her bingo party was cancelled because one of her friends had a car accident and they did not wan to continue until she was fully recovered. Samantha told her grandmother about the dance, and when she was through there was a look of surprise on her grandmother's face, Samantha never had the idea of going to a dance before, and when Sam told her of the dress and the help she needed for her costume, her grandmother took her to the attic to see some of the stuff, her husband kept there, and they found a witch hat that had been used by her grandmother in a party with her bingo friends, it was a perfect fit, and also her grandmother took out some jewellery she hadn't used for a while and gave it to Samantha in a jewellery box, it contained a necklace with a little pumpkin, a few thin bracelets that Samantha thought they were very nice, and a little pin in the shape of a broom. Sure enough the outfit was simple, but for Samantha having all that stuff was a relief.

Roberta on the other hand had gone out to buy something to complete her dress, she had no idea what she was going to buy, so he had to go to her last resort, Teeny. She called Teeny and they both went out to buy things for her dress. Roberta's dress was white, Teeny thought it great if she could disguise Roberta as a princess, with a crown and everything, but obviously Roberta hated the idea, then Teeny said something that changed Roberta's view of it all.

She said: "Don't you think your mother would have loved to see you all dressed up? As a princess?".

Roberta took the tiara that Teeny was holding and without saying anything else she bought everything for her princess outfit, Teeny couldn't believe it, but Roberta was actually smiling, and when Teeny noticed, she smiled too.

The night for the Halloween dance was beginning, Samantha and Roberta were very nervous, but both of them looked amazing in their dresses, when Scott saw Roberta come down the stairs of Teeny's house, his jaw dropped, Roberta just smiled and Scott smiled back, but Roberta just whispered.

"Don't get used to it".

Samantha came down the stairs too and Raphael welcomed her with a kiss, he was dressed up as the great and fearsome Zorro, quite convenient, Scott was dressed as Dracula, Teeny was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, and Chrissy was just dressed in a pink dress and had a little gold mask.

- "This isn't a masquerade Chrissy, couldn't you find something more halloween-like?" – Teeny said.

- "Well I was gonna go as a witch but Sam beat me to the idea" – Chrissy said.

They all went out and they walked together to the school, they entered the gym. The whole gym was decorated with pumpkins with candles inside them, bats hanging from the ceiling, the usual disco balls, and other Halloween stuff, the room was full, it was hard to go around without bumping into someone.

Upon their arrival they started dancing, it didn't take Teeny more than five minutes to be surrounded by guys that wanted to dance with her, Samantha was just happy she had one, Raphael. Roberta was stared at by most of the girls, with looks of envy, but guys were staring too, nobody ever knew that Roberta was actually a beautiful girl. Chrissy was just sitting on a corner watching her friends dancing and she was eating a piece of chocolate cake, then a boy by the name of Jerry Watson, who was one of the brightest kids in the school and also labelled the top geek of all, came to ask Chrissy to dance, and surprisingly enough she agreed.

The four girls were having fun until Samantha's mother came through the gym door, she walked towards Samantha and Raphael, she took Samantha by the arm and pulled her out of the dancing crowd.

- "You are coming home with me right now, young lady" – Sam's mom said.

Samantha struggled to get her mother's grip on her arm loose, but her mother had held on to her so tight, Sam felt like she was cutting her circulation.

Raphael came out of the crowd and approached Sam and her mom, he stood by Samantha and took her by the arm and pulled her near him which caused Sam's mother to loose her grip on Sam's arm.

- "You! You stay away from my daughter!" – Samantha's mom shouted, the whole room stared at them, Roberta, Chrissy and Teeny moved in to try and smooth things up but this made it even worse.

- "You are in on this too? Shame on you, I thought you were real friends to my daughter but you are a bunch of troublemakers, you put my daughter up to this" – Samantha's mother said.

Roberta looked at Teeny, she was clearly shocked by the woman's behaviour, Samantha was about to cry, but she finally snapped.

- "I'm tired of you mom, I hate you, I don't wanna see you again, leave me alone, I love Raphael and I love my friends and nothing you say or do can change that! Come on Raphael let's go" – Samantha shouted and took Raphael by the hand and ran out with him, Samantha's mother stood there for a while and then left the gym, got inside her car and drove away.

Roberta, Scott, Teeny and Chrissy ran out to find Samantha and Raphael, they walked around the school and found them sitting on a bench, Samantha was crying and Raphael was holding her. Everyone was at a loss for words, no one spoke for a while, until Chrissy finally suggested to go to the tree house, and they all walked there, to spend the night of that Friday all together in neutral ground.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. The Tree House

**Sorry for taking this long but I had lost inspiration and I was writing bits and pieces on my spare time which sadly hasn't been much but I'm trying to get back to it and thank you all for your kind words and apreciation it means a lot ;)**

**Now and Then 2: Before and After**

**Chapter 6 – The Tree House**

It was a little passed midnight and they all walked to the Tree house. None of them exchanged words on the way, after all they had a loss of words for what had just happened and with good reason. Samantha was a wreck. She was still crying, though not so much as before but not even Raphael could find something to make her feel better and he thought that if he just dissed the subject it could only make it worse.

It wasn't until they were all inside the tree house that Roberta spoke.

- "Oh to hell with it! We didn't do anything wrong!" – Roberta hissed and Teeny made a loud shush sound.

- "That's not helpful Roberta. Sam can't just push problems aside it only gets worse" – Chrissy said.

Roberta just gave Chrissy a glare and then slapped the floor.

- "Well then you say something miss perfect" – Roberta said and Teeny just got up.

- "Stop it both of you! This doesn't help at all. Are we going to fight amongst ourselves now?" – Teeny asked them looking from Chrissy to Roberta. Chrissy only looked down and Roberta just crossed her arms, leaned on Scott and looked out the window.

Samantha stopped crying and was leaning on Raphael's shoulder and she looked at them all.

- "I'm sorry guys. I'm sorry my mom keeps messing things up for us" – Samantha said and Teeny took her hand reassuringly and then pulled her and gave her a hug.

- "You don't have to apologise for anything Sam. If anyone should apologise it's your mom. She'll come around, you'll see" – Teeny said and gave her a smile.

- "I hope so" – Samantha said and leaned on Raphael again.

Scott looked at Raphael.

- "How much money you got?" – Scott asked.

Raphael looked puzzled for a moment and then took out his wallet and checked it.

- "Like ten or fifteen dollars. Why?" – Raphael said.

- "Well I don't know about you guys but since we left there and we didn't eat anything, I'm kinda hungry and since we're the guys we should pay for the ladies" – Scott said and Raphael nodded.

- "But how are you going to buy anything? The closest store here closed at 11:00" – Teeny said.

Chrissy then pushed Teeny to a side and loosened a board on the floor from where she took out several bags of chips and other sweets.

- "I had this in case of an emergency, and I guess it calls for it" – Chrissy said and they all celebrated Chrissy's thinking.

The night kept passing and Roberta and Scott were inside the tree house. Teeny and Chrissy were at the swings and Sam and Raphael were sitting on the floor covered with a blanket looking at the moon.

- "Do you have to get home now?" – Samantha asked.

- "I'll stay with you for as long as you need me" – Raphael said and Samantha smiled at him and rested her head on his chest.

- "I wish we could go far away, where we could be together and no one could take us away or make scenes like my mom" – Samantha said.

- "Yeah, I wish we could" – Raphael said and Samantha looked at him.

- "Then why don't we go?" – Samantha asked.

- "Where would you like to go?" – Raphael asked.

- "Well maybe…someplace where it snows all the time" – Samantha replied.

- "I get the chills just thinking about it, why not a beach or something like that?" – Raphael said playfully and Sam smiled and pushed him gently to a side.

- "I'm serious, wouldn't you like it, a house in the middle of the woods with snow all over. We could lie on the snow and dance under the moon" – Samantha said.

- "Well, we can dance right now" – Raphael said and got up and offered her his hand. Samantha got up smiling and took his hand and they began to dance.

There was no music but she could hear a lovely melody as she danced with him. Every step they took was exactly at the beat of her heart which gave the rhythm to the slow music in her mind. It was these moments of happiness that made everything worthwhile.

The morning came and they had fallen asleep. Scott woke up next to Roberta and she woke up and Scott smiled at her.

- "Good morning" – Scott said and Roberta smiled at him and she reached over him and moved on top of him. Scott only smiled.

- "Don't get any ideas" – Roberta said and reached for her coat and grabbed it and looked outside for the others.

Chrissy and Teeny had fallen asleep on a bench and Samantha and Raphael were on the grass with the blanket around them.

Raphael woke up first and gave Samantha a soft kiss on her cheek to wake her. Sam smiled at him and gave him a soft kiss.

- "So we have to get something for breakfast so I'll go back to my house and get some clothes. And I'll meet you at the dinner" – Raphael said.

- "Sounds like a plan" – Sam said and smiled at him. Raphael got up and helped Sam get up.

Chrissy yawned loudly and Teeny woke up because of it.

- "Could you mind not making too much noise Chrissy, I'm sleeping here" – Teeny said and they all laughed.

Raphael told Scott, and the girls the plan with Samantha and they all agreed to see each other at the dinner. Everyone left their own way except for Teeny and Samantha who went together to Teeny's house so Sam could borrow some clothes.

When Teeny got home, her parents weren't there like always but they left a note. It said that Sam's mother had come looking for her and that she was coming to get her at 8:00 pm. Teeny only passed the note to Sam who frowned as she read it.

- "I'm not going back with her Teeny. I'm going to see if I can stay with Raphael. I'll ask him later in the dinner" – Sam said.

Teeny only nodded and passed Sam a pair of jeans and a top. Teeny's clothes were different to what Sam was used to wearing but she did not complain about anything. After all Teeny was doing her a favour and she was grateful for it.

It was almost 11:00 am and they were now ready. They walked to the dinner and saw Raphael, Scott and Roberta, and Chrissy sitting on their usual table beside the window. Sam kissed Raphael and sat beside him and Teeny sat beside Sam.

- "I can't stay too long guys, my mom freaked when I told her where I spent the night, so she grounded me" – Chrissy said.

- "I'm so sorry Chrissy" – Sam said.

- "Hey don't worry, I was being supportive for my friend in need so it doesn't matter if I'm grounded. I'm sure you would've done the same for me" – Chrissy said.

Sam smiled and Roberta grinned.

- "I wouldn't" – Roberta said to Chrissy grinning and Chrissy punched her on her arm – "Ok just kidding" – Roberta said smiling.

Raphael looked at Sam who was frowning and looking directly at her glass of coke.

- "What's wrong Sam?" – Raphael asked and put his arm around her.

- "I can't stay at Teeny's anymore. Can I stay with you?" – Sam asked him and Raphael smiled at her.

- "Sure you can, you can sleep in my sister's room, she's dying to meet you" – Raphael said and Sam smiled.

Sam knew she couldn't run forever and her mom would never stop looking for her. But she did not want her mom to find her just yet. She had a lot of things to think about and she wasn't going to let go of this wonderful feeling she shared with Raphael. She had to prepare for the final encounter with her mom, and she would think about it in Raphael's house.

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
